AAPI authors continue to make significant contributions to literature in 2025, with ten standout titles worth your attention. These diverse works span from personal stories to grand narratives, each offering unique perspectives that reflect both specific cultural experiences and universal themes. The selected books not only provide engaging reads but also expand our understanding and empathy. For readers seeking meaningful literary experiences this year, these AAPI-authored works represent some of the most compelling new voices and stories in contemporary literature.

Bad Influence by Claire Ahn

Charlotte Goh straddles two worlds—the respectful Korean daughter and the ambitious NYC fashion influencer. When a post about discrimination at an industry event catapults her to unexpected fame, Charlotte’s life transforms overnight. Suddenly surrounded by glamorous friends, celebrity attention, and lucrative sponsorship offers, she finds herself seduced by the lifestyle she once only dreamed about. As her online presence flourishes, her personal relationships strain, particularly her deepening connection with longtime friend Steven. Charlotte must navigate this dazzling but demanding new reality, questioning how much of herself she’s willing to compromise for success and whether fame is worth losing what truly matters.

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The Singular Life Of Aria Patel by Samira Ahmed

In a world of constants, science-minded Aria Patel craves predictability, even choosing to end her relationship before college to avoid inevitable heartbreak. But her methodical existence shatters when she begins inexplicably slipping between parallel universes daily. With no scientific explanation to guide her, Aria’s only constants across these shifting realities are Rohan—a boy she increasingly can’t ignore—and a mysterious poem from English class. Her desperate search for home eventually lands her in a nearly perfect parallel world, complete with a loving family and a version of Rohan who stirs unexpected feelings. Yet as she settles into this new life, Aria faces an impossible dilemma: staying means stealing another Aria’s rightful happiness, but continuing her search offers no guarantees of finding her way back to her true reality.

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King Of Envy by Ana Huang

Vuk Markovic, a scarred recluse with untold wealth and power, maintains a careful distance from humanity—with one exception. Vuk’s obsession with Ayana Kidane threatens to unravel his carefully constructed walls. She is engaged to his friend. As his friend’s wedding approaches, the conflict between loyalty and raw desire intensifies to breaking point. Behind her perfect facade as a supermodel, Ayana guards secrets of her own. Her engagement is purely transactional— he secures his inheritance while she gains the means to escape her exploitative agency. The pretense of romance should be straightforward until she finds herself inexplicably drawn to her fiancé’s mysterious best man.

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The Lost Queen by Aimee Phan

In suburban San Jose, sophomore Jolie Lam is known for her swim meet meltdown and her grandfather’s strange visions. When she saves popular classmate Huong Pham during an eerie premonition, their unexpected friendship triggers mysterious abilities—telepathy, sudden Vietnamese fluency, and disturbing foresight. The girls discover they’re reincarnations of Vietnam’s legendary Trung Sisters, ancient goddesses with unfinished business. Their revelation launches them into a perilous journey through dreams and supernatural portals to reclaim their immortal powers before ancient enemies strike. As dangers mount, Jolie must distinguish allies from enemies while confronting difficult moral choices that will determine their fate and possibly the world’s.

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Courtroom Drama by Neely Tubati Alexander

Sydney Parks is thrilled to be selected for jury duty in the sensational trial of a reality TV star accused of murder, but quickly learns that real-life courtrooms aren’t quite like the dramas she loves. Things get even more complicated when she discovers her long-lost best friend—and almost something more—Damon is also on the jury. As sparks reignite between them, Sydney must navigate unresolved feelings, courtroom tension, and the pressure of delivering justice without letting her heart cause a mistrial.

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Archangel’s Ascension by Nalini Singh

In the vibrant setting of New York, two members of Archangel Raphael’s elite Seven find themselves reunited, facing the delicate navigation of their evolving relationship. But duty calls as they tackle a Tower investigation that stirs dark memories from Aodhan’s troubled past. Simultaneously, they confront the looming phenomenon that has long shadowed Illium—the potential for ascension, a transformative power that flickers within his blue-winged form. This possibility has haunted him, as he desperately wishes to remain among the Seven despite the inexorable forces of change that govern immortal existence. As they delve deeper into both case and crisis, they face a future that promises both devastating heartbreak and extraordinary joy—emotions powerful enough to echo through the corridors of time, forever altering their immortal journey together.

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I Will Blossom Anyway by Disha Bose

Soft-spoken Durga, unlike her vibrant siblings, shocks everyone by being first to leave their protective Calcutta household. In Ireland, working in tech and rooming with Joy, she discovers a freedom to reinvent herself beyond family expectations. When her romance with Joy’s brother Jacob collapses, Durga faces life-defining choices. Should she embrace her warrior spirit or retreat to familiar comforts? Neither path seems complete. Straddling cultural divides, navigating millennial complexities, and defining womanhood on her own terms, Durga must find courage to forge an authentic life.

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The Passengers On The Hankyu Line by Hiro Arikawa, Allison Markin Powell (Translator)

Winding between picturesque Takarazuka and Nishinomiya, the bustling Hankyu railway carries more than just passengers—it transports hopes, heartbreaks, and quiet transformations. Five strangers board with their private struggles: a man perpetually missing library books to the same borrower, a melancholy bride in pristine white, a college student heading home, a woman summoning courage to escape abuse, and an elderly grandmother contemplating canine companionship. Six months later, their return journey reveals how life’s trajectory has shifted. Like the intersecting tracks below, these seemingly separate lives momentarily converge, creating an exquisite tapestry of human experiences.

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Writing Mr. Right by Alina Khawaja

Daytime paralegal Ziya Khan crafts fiction featuring characters seldom seen in mainstream literature, only to face mounting rejections. When her latest manuscript gets dismissed right before her thirtieth birthday, she abandons her literary ambitions completely. Then impossibly, her fictional muse Aashiq materializes in her kitchen, determined to reignite her creative spark. As he coaxes her toward bolder living—from spontaneous singing to workplace assertiveness—unexpected romance blooms between them. But as Ziya’s storytelling passion reawakens, Aashiq begins fading away. His purpose nearly fulfilled, Ziya confronts an impossible dilemma: pursue her rekindled artistic passion or fight for an otherworldly love that defies explanation.

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The Ex-Girlfriend Murder Club by Gloria Chao

Finding her ex-boyfriend’s corpse stuffed in a closet wasn’t part of Kathryn Hu’s revenge plan. She and Tucker’s other deceived girlfriends—Olivia and Elle—had merely gathered to settle scores with their mutual cheater. Now they’re staring at a dead body and three sets of damning fingerprints. Despite appearances and their admittedly timely death wishes, they’re completely innocent—supposedly. Determined to avoid prison, this unlikely trio launches their own investigation, spinning webs of deception that entangle everyone from Tucker’s associates to the attractive detective assigned to the case. As they dig deeper, they discover everyone in Tucker’s orbit had murder motives.

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What Hunger by Catherine Dang

Fourteen-year-old Ronny Nguyen languishes in suburban limbo while her brother Tommy—academic star and parental favorite—prepares for college. Their Vietnamese immigrant parents rarely discuss their homeland except through meticulously prepared meals where meat represents both luxury and survival. When unexpected calamity shatters Ronny’s world, followed by a traumatic encounter at her first high school party, she undergoes a startling transformation. A primal force awakens within her, bringing uncontrollable cravings for raw flesh that both empower and threaten to consume her. What Hunger delves into feminine fury, cultural inheritance, and the complex bond between mothers and daughters as Ronny navigates her family’s unspoken traumas through her own metamorphosis.

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